that wfejled the Corn In the Tear 1795. 247 



" corolhi and the grain. It takes'its ftation in the longitudinal fijr- 

 " row of the feed, in the bottom of which it feetns to fix its roftrum; 

 " probably fucks the milky juice which fwells the grain, and thus 

 " by depriving it o^ part, and in fome cafes perhaps the "whole, of its 

 " moifturc, occafions it to (hrink up, and become what the farmers 

 " in this part of the world call punned. If your correfpondent in 

 " Hcrtfordthire means the fame infed, he is miftaken in aflertinc 

 *' that only a fingle grain in an ear is injured by it. I have myfcif 

 *' fcen ears in which 2i fourth part of the grain was deftroyed, or 

 " materially hurt. — I have frequently fecn two of the infedls upon 

 " a fingle grain, and am told that fometimes more are obferved. 

 " What is fingular, when I met with them on the grain in the 

 " imago ftate, they were often in pairs, one of which was apterous. 

 " Thefe I take to be the fexes. I once found a large fpecies am 

 " acukato Cthrips acukata Muf, Kirby) in which the fame difiinc- 

 " tion takes place. The larva of Thrips phyfapus is yellow, has fix 

 " legs, which, with the antennae and head, are black and white. 

 " Sometimes it is all yellow. It is very nimble in its motions, and 

 " although brought away in the grain, foon makes its efcape. — • 

 " The pupa is whitifh, Avith black eyes, and wings apparent. It is 

 " very flow and fluggifl:i in its motions. The imago it is needkfs to 

 *' defcribe; it is fo like itfelf in every ftate, that it is impoflible to 

 •' miftake it. There was an orange-coloured powder in every grain 

 -" in which the infed was found, which I imagine is its excrement. 

 " All the farmers that I confulted refpeding it agreed in fayino- 

 ♦' that it did mod mifchief to the late fown wheats, and that fuch 

 " as were fown early received little or no injury. This I think very 

 " probable ; for when the grain is arrived at a certain degree of 

 " hardnefs and confiflency (which perhaps was the cafe with the 

 *' early fown wheats, before the infed made any material attack), 



" I fuppofe 



